The cost of health insurance isn't just
an annoying deduction out of your paycheck, it is an investment in the
preservation of your lifestyle and assets. Here is a story about a woman
I worked with not long ago that highlights why you should consider basic
health insurance an investment.

Angela's mouth was
beginning to swell on one side. Her gum had become infected because of
the unresolved problems she was having with her teeth. She had put off
seeing a dentist because she had very little money and had no health
insurance. She had opted to not pay for health insurance through her
employer reasoning that she couldn’t afford it. The pain from the
infection was getting worse and even forced her to call off work several
times which meant she would be short in some of her paychecks.

A story about living without
health insurance

Finally, she couldn’t
take the pain any longer and went to a dentist. The dentist examined her
teeth and then recommended the work that needed done to correct the
problem. Now, she was faced with a costly situation. The work would cost
about $1,000.00 and half of it needed to be paid up front. Angela
struggled to find enough people to lend her the $500.00 she needed to
get the work started. She did get the problem fixed, but was now
$1,000.00 in debt. The worst part for her was that half of that debt was
to family members. Additionally, she had been receiving paychecks that
were smaller than usual because she had called off of work due to the
constant pain her teeth were causing.

Dental insurance was
available to Angela through her employer and it would have covered the
procedure she needed. She was paid 26 times a year and $7.80 would have
been taken out of each check if she had taken that insurance. The total
cost for the year would have been $202.80. Once she did the math Angela
wasn’t sure what made her feel worse: owing $1,000.00 or knowing she
could have avoided it by paying a non-taxed $7.80 every paycheck.